Kies

Are you a Vodafone customer who's been dying to get your hands on Ice Cream Sandwich for your poor, neglected Galaxy S II? Then whip out your laptop and MicroUSB cable and prepare to have your Friday made. As promised, Vodafone announced today that the Android 4.0 is rolling out right now via Samsung's Kies desktop application. If you'd rather wait for a simpler over-the-air download, Vodafone says that it'll be available on Tuesday, April 17th.

News has just hit the wires from Samsung themselves that they'll officially be updating the Galaxy S II to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich Saturday. This will be for the international version most know as the GT-i9100 and not the US versions on T-Mobile AT&T and others. In just two days you international Galaxy S II owners will be enjoying some Android 4.0 ICS.

The Epic 4G Touch was released just last Friday and already the lovely people over at XDA Developers have already developed a root method for the device. While most of you may be unsure of putting your brand new, beautiful Epic 4G Touch's under the knife, these developers have unlocked the phone to allowing you full access to the device's potential.

Vodafone UK has begun to push out the update for the Samsung Galaxy S, updating the smartphone to Android 2.3 Gingerbread. Vodafone looks to be the first UK carrier to offer the update.
The first signs of Gingerbread for the Galaxy S were spotted over the weekend, with the new firmware being flagged up in several Nordic countries. According to Vodafone's change-list, the handset will get a "simpler and slicker" UI, the new Gingerbread keyboard, boosted power and camera management, and the ability to lock it into 2G mode.
To install the new firmware, you'll need to hook your Galaxy S up to a PC running Samsung KIES. Let us know how you get on in the comments!
Press Release:

NEWS: Update for the Samsung Galaxy S
A new maintenance release for the Samsung Galaxy S is now available for Vodafone customers. This is an Android platform update to 2.3 Gingerbread which introduces a number of fixes and improvements which include;
Ul Enhancements (simpler and slicker)
New Android Keyboard, with easy copy/paste feature
Improved Power Management
Multiple Camera Management (front and back)
The ability to switch the device to GSM (2G) only mode has been restored in this update.
How will you get the latest software?
This can be done manually by connecting your handset to your computer via USB and opening the Samsung KIES application. You will be prompted that an update is available and should then follow the onscreen instructions.
Checking the software version
To check which version of the software you have on your handset you need to dial *#1234#
The new software version will show as i9000BUJV4

Samsung is rolling out wireless sync for users of its Kies desktop media management app for certain Android smartphones. Kies Air is showing up in the Samsung Apps download store on the Galaxy S, and allows PCs running Kies to access the smartphone over WiFi and view call logs, videos, photos, bookmarks, and IMs, as well as send SMS messages from the computer's browser.
Unlike HTC Sense Online, Kies Air only works if all devices are on the same WiFi network, and we're not seeing it show up in the Galaxy Tab apps store, only on the Galaxy S. Still, it's a useful tool if you want to use your full-sized keyboard to punch out messages more quickly, or manage content on the Galaxy S without having to plug in a USB cable. Kies is a free download for PC only.
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[via Samsung Blog]

Google has confirmed that the Nexus S, unlike Samsung's other Android smartphones, won't require the Korean company's Kies desktop management app for installing software updates. Instead, Android Developer Advocate Reto Meier confirmed, updates will be released over-the-air as with the Nexus One.
The news will come as a relief to those non-Windows users eyeing the Nexus S, as currently Samsung only offers a version of Kies for PCs and not Mac or Linux. More on the Nexus S in our hands-on coverage of the new Gingerbread smartphone.
[via Twitter]

For those of you all saddened by the wait for Android 2.2 Froyo for your Galaxy S device, you've got a response from T-Mobile now. Having supposedly delivered Android 2.2 for Galaxy S owners by December 1st, T-Mobile now says thusly: "Unfortunately the 2.2 update will not be available via KIES today as expected and Samsung have confirmed that FOTA will not feature as part of this update, but should appear at a later date. ...Samsung are indicating the firmware will be made available at some point next week. We'll keep you posted with further updates as we get them." This response appeared on their support forum. Next week! Hooray!

It looks like Android 2.2 Froyo for the Samsung Galaxy S is finally getting its release, with owners in Norway, Denmark and Sweden all reporting that the new firmware (I9000 JPM) has shown up for installation in Samsung's Kies PC manager app.
It's worth noting that, so far, Samsung only has a version of Kies for PC users; if you've only got a Mac then we're afraid you're out of luck.
Among the reported changes are:

Slightly different graphics and transitions with app drawer and default icon dock

Colored icons in settings

GPS Fix

Colored settings icons

Media Hub

Darker menu theme, navy blue color

Better Exchange support

Video records in MP4 format

New Search widget

New Gmail application

[Thanks Spary!]
Update: The press release has confirmed it; Nordic regions first, then "gradually rolled out to other European markets, Southeast Asia, the Middle East Asia, North America, Africa and rest of the world."
Press Release:

Samsung GALAXY S Offers New Android 2.2 Upgrade
New platform upgrade provides enhanced experience on the go
SEOUL, Korea – October 18, 2010 – Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., a leading mobile phone provider, today announced the Android™ 2.2 (Froyo) upgrade to the Samsung GALAXY S, giving users access to new features, enhanced navigation applications and improved performance.
The Android 2.2 upgrade will be available via Kies, Samsung’s unique in-house software upgrade program. Kies can be downloaded at the Samsung mobile website (http://www.samsungmobile.com).
The GALAXY S is Samsung’s cleverly designed smartphone with a bright 4-inch SUPER AMOLED screen and a 1 GHz application processor, giving users an intelligent, immersive and integrated mobile experience. The Android 2.2 upgrade offers voice-controlled GPS through Google MapsTM with Navigation, faster performance by JIT(Just in Time) compiler. Additionally, further functionalities including Search in-browser, Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1, improved customization options will be provided with OS upgrade.
- Google MapsTM with Navigation: GPS navigation system with voice guidance
- Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1: Allow the web browser to make full use of the whole web
- Setup Wizard: Quickly customize the GALAXY S and access networks with ease
- Home Screen/Menu Preview and Edit : Preview by pinch-zoom
- Search in-Browser : Google™, Translate, Wikipedia, Dictionary
The Android 2.2 upgrade will be available from the mid of October 2010 in the Nordic region and gradually rolled out to other European markets, Southeast Asia, the Middle East Asia, North America, Africa and rest of the world.
About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2009 consolidated sales of US$116.8 billion. Employing approximately 188,000 people in 185 offices across 65 countries, the company consists of eight independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Semiconductor and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.
* All functionality, features, specifications and other product information provided this document including, but not limited to, the benefits, design, pricing, components, performance, availability, and capabilities of the product are subject to change without notice or obligation.
Samsung reserves the right to make changes to this document and the product described here, at anytime, without obligation on Samsung to provide notification of such change. This document and any formation contained here are provided on "AS IS" basis without warranty of any kind, either implied or expressed, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
Google, the Google logo, Google Maps, Android and Android Market are trademarks of Google, Inc.
Google MapsTM Navigation is not available in countries outside of the Europe, the Americas and Japan regions.
Adobe, the Flash logo and Flash are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

A week after this last update, which said the same thing, we are informed again that Froyo will be coming soon. Originally set to launch at the end of September the 2.2 update has been pushed back even further. Other than that details are scarce, however, we do know that the update will not be over-the-air and, when released, will be available via Samsung Kies.